The present invention relates to a device for reversing the transport direction of a paper and applicable to an image forming apparatus.
It is a common practice to provide a copier, printer or similar image forming apparatus with a paper turning device for turning over a paper, carrying an image on one or both sides thereof, and distributing it to a tray or a bin. The conventional paper turning device has, for example, a path selector located at a branch portion thereof. After the trailing edge of a paper has moved away from the path selector, the position of the path selector is switched over to transport the paper in the opposite direction along a transport path terminating at a path selector assigned to a tray or a bin. This path selector drives the paper onto the tray or the bin via a branch path. As a result, the paper is laid on the tray in a turned position. In a paper turning device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-107454, for example, the path selector is actuated by a solenoid and has guide faces respectively implemented as a curved surface and a flat surface. When the solenoid is selectively turned on or turned off, either the curved surface or the flat surface of the path selector intersects a transport path or discharge path.
However, the problem with the above paper turning device using a solenoid is that the overall size of the device is apt to increase.